Loophole
by soapmaniac22
Summary: When Caroline Forbes starts to think that she will forever be second choice and alone forever, a certain Original hybrid stumbles back into her bedroom - and back into her heart.


***Peeks around the corner***

***waves***

**Hi people, Klaroliners, and friends :). **

**I'm new to writing fanfiction for the TVD universe, maybe some of you have read my Glee OSs, or maybe some of you are just wondering who the heck I am! I'm pretty new to the Klaroline fan world, but I'm really excited to get to know ya'll (I'm from the South if you can't tell). If any of you guys have tumblr, I'm she-walked-away on there!**

**Anyway, I've had this little one shot circling around in my head for the past couple months after I watched 5x11 and I just HAD to get it out on paper/internet site. I really really hope you guys enjoy this :) Just a warning, this has some season 2 TO speculation/spoilers, ditto with season 6 TVD.**

**Thanks to linzackles for being my beta and for holding my hand throughout the process of writing it and being such a welcoming friend :) You da best!**

**Enjoy!**

Caroline drops her keys on her desk as she walks into her dorm room.

Her eyes survey the room, choosing to skip over the pile of untouched clothes on Bonnie's bed, and settles on the lone empty bed. Elena had moved out the day after everything that happened with Damon and Bonnie. She'd said she needed time to process the loss, but Caroline knew it was because of that creepy drug some witch had convinced Elena to begin taking. Her best friend was on a downward spiral and for once, Caroline doesn't want to fix her.

She's tired. She's _so _tired of everything. It's exhausting pretending to be the bubbly girl who cheers everybody up. She tired of fixing their messes. She's tired of doing schoolwork and pretending to care about it all when all she really wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry. When all she really wants is to forget everything that had happened in the past year. Forget that Bonnie is dead, that Tyler hates her, how she messed up _so badly_ with Stefan, forget the sting of rejection from him, and forget everything that she knew and felt about a certain Original Hybrid who's been plaguing her thoughts lately.

Caroline didn't really know why he'd been popping up in her mind lately. Maybe it was because Damon had delighted in telling her about the miracle hybrid baby a few days after their tryst in the woods. Maybe it was because Stefan had told her about what happened when the baby was born and she felt for him. Or _maybe_, just maybe, it was because that little dark closet in her heart where she hides all her feelings for him has been growing like the freakin' Grinch's heart.

She flops onto the bed and nestles up to a pillow in her arms. The pillow being her reminder that she's completely, utterly, terrifyingly alone. Matt's gone, Elena's gone, Tyler's gone, Stefan is too complicated to think about, and Klaus is –

Klaus is _here_.

She hears him breathing from where he stands behind her. Then she smells that familiar intoxicating, spicy scent of his.

Klaus.

God, she's missed him.

She doesn't say anything, closing her eyes.

She feels his gaze boring into her back, causing goose bumps to raise on her skin; feels his hand running across the sheet on the other side of bed.

Just being in the same room with him brings a flash of memories running through her head. Those dimples smiling at her. Those soft lips kissing every inch of her body; his strong hands bringing her pleasure over and over. Every single feeling for him that she hides in the closet suddenly comes bursting out, trampling over every guilty feeling she's had about being with him.

And he hasn't even said anything yet.

"You know this is technically breaking your promise," her voice comes out soft and quiet.

She can hear him smile as he eases himself down on the bed. Briefly she feels grateful that her heart doesn't beat anymore because she's sure it would have flat-lined at his nearness.

"Technically I'm not," his low voice washes over her.

She realizes that she's missed hearing him talk. Pathetic, she knows, but it's the truth.

"_Technically_, you said you were going to walk away and never come back," she reminds him, turning to face him.

For the first time in months she takes in his features. She feels breathless.

He looks as amazing as usual. There are subtle changes – his hair is a little shorter; stubble a bit longer, but his eyes are as piercing as ever. She zeroes in on his face, drinking in all the features that her heart had been reluctantly aching for since he'd left.

She feels his eyes raking over her too, re-familiarizing himself with her face and body.

"Technically, I said I would walk away from Mystic Falls and never come back. Unless they've altered Mystic Falls' boundaries to include Whitmore college, I believe I've stuck to my promise. I merely found a loophole," he states smugly, reaching over to caress the curls on her shoulder.

She closes her eyes, feeling his hand stroke through her tresses, remembering how good it felt when he did that in the woods right before he kissed her goodbye.

"Your hair is shorter."

"I got it cut last week," she whispers.

She bites her lip uncertainly when she opens her eyes and peers up at him. "I thought it meant that you were going to walk away from me. For good."

"Sweetheart, I could never do that," he confesses in a whisper.

Again she thanks her abilities – without vampiric hearing she would never have heard his quiet confession.

Her eyes snap open and she finds herself unable to breathe beneath his piercing gaze. She smiles lightly then rolls back over onto her other side, pulling the covers down behind her.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you found that loophole." She gestures with her head."Hop in."

He's unsure, she can feel it.

Still, after a few seconds she hears him hesitantly drop his shoes to the floor and take his jacket off, throwing it onto Elena's bed. The mattress dips down as he shuffles closer to her, lying down. She reaches behind her and searches blindly for his hand, confidently taking it and circling it around her waist as she presses her back up against his chest.

He lies next to her stiffly, unfamiliar with this type of affection.

"I'm not going to break you know, Klaus," she giggles, stroking his hand with a thumb.

"Well aware, love," he states. "I just – "

She rolls her eyes, knowing that something incredibly analytic but ultimately useless is probably coming.

"Just _feel_. Don't think about everything else right now, ok? Just you and me; right here, right now."

She lets out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding when his body relaxes and he starts softly stroking her stomach.

They lay there quietly for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. With every hot breath he breathes against her neck, she feels herself finally start to relax – for the first time in months. Everything uncoils and it's like every problem melts away against his body.

"This is weird," she announces with a wrinkled nose.

"Why? Am I not doing this right?" he asks, amusement in his voice.

He begins running his hand up and down her arm, massaging her silky skin.

She giggles at his response.

"No, you're fine. It's just… weird. The badass Original Hybrid whose number one business is terrifying the masses, cuddling."

"I don't cuddle."

"You are so cuddling right now," she counters with a laugh.

She feels him growl as she continues to giggle. Abruptly she stops when he starts placing hot kisses on the back of her neck. His hand stops stroking her arm and goes back to her stomach, inching up towards her breasts.

"Is this cuddling?" he asks innocently, nipping at a spot behind her ear.

"N-no," she gasps as his hand brushes the underside of her left breast.

He chuckles, removing his hand to reach for her face instead as he begins to trail kisses down her jawbone.

"What about this?"

"Definitely not," she replies, blissfully letting her eyes flutter closed.

With her left hand she reaches for his neck, eager to bring his sinful lips to hers. She almost manages it but he stops short and chuckles once again, pulling his head away.

"Well, it's a good thing we're just cuddling then."

He grabs her waist and pulls her tightly against him. He places a kiss on her forehead when she lets out a disappointed whine.

"Tease."

"Spoon now, we'll fork later," he promises jokingly, rolling his hips into her back.

Her breath catches when she feels his rock-hard erection.

"You know, I wouldn't let you do this to me if I wasn't so tired," she quips, taking the hand around her waist and weaving her fingers through his.

"Yes, you would," he replies simply.

He's right. Everything changed in the forest. She can't exactly lie about what she feels for him anymore. Her cheeks flame in the darkness as she recounts the numerous memories of them against the tree, on the forest floor, then back up on the tree, and then some.

"So how are you doing?" he asks, breaking the silence.

She stiffens slightly before blinking away a sudden onset of tears.

"I'm fine. School is going good – well, I'm changing my major again. I can't seem to find something that I really like doing and – "

"Don't take this the wrong way, love, but I have very little interest in your education. How are _you_ doing?"

She huffs in the silence, contemplating her answer. Should she tell him that she's barely slept in a month? How once again, she lost her best friend. How she was rejected again? How as much as she tries, she's never the one? How right now, in his arms, she feels like she's home? That she can finally breathe for the first time in forever?

"I'm okay," she shrugs.

He scoffs and she knows he's rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, Caroline?"

"First off, that's my line. Second of all, I'm _fine_," she protests.

With a light sigh he lifts his hand and runs it through her hair. She feels an onset of tears even as she marvels at how good it feels.

"Tell me."

His words hang in the silence as she desperately tries to hold in all the emotions she's felt in the past few months. She realizes how little she's wearing, in her tank top and shorts compared to his jeans and Henley. It adds to her feeling of vulnerability, which is the worst when a girl is trying to hide her feelings.

"I d-don't know," she starts.

He kisses her shoulder encouragingly as he waits patiently for her to continue.

"Everything this past month has been a blur. You think I'd be used to all the pain and destruction and loss that comes from living in Mystic Falls. You'd think that as a vampire, this would get easier. But it just gets harder. I mean, Damon is gone, Bonnie is gone again, Jeremy is god knows where, same with Matt and Tyler; Elena is off on some witchy drug trip that lets her hallucinate Damon –"

"Odd," he cuts in.

"I know right?! And Stefan – " she trails off, unsure if she wants to delve into that subject with Klaus of all people.

"Stefan rejected you," he supplies.

It's not a question.

She doesn't say anything, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

"How'd you know?" she asks, her voice small.

"Love, just because I left doesn't mean that I don't still keep in touch with… current events, if you will."

She frowns. "So you have someone stalking me?"

"I prefer the phrase 'looking out for you','" he replies simply.

She's silent for a moment, trying to process what that means.

Then she shakes her head a little. It doesn't matter. What matters is that he knows.

"I don't get it," she whispers after a while. "Why am I never enough?"

He inhales sharply and in a flash, she's underneath him and he's straddling her waist, looking intently into her eyes.

"Caroline, you are more than enough. Don't ever sell yourself short. I told you, you are meant for bigger things than these small one-pony towns and colleges." He swipes some hair out of her face."You, love, are a _queen_," he finishes, his crystal blue eyes searching hers.

She stares up at him in surprise, feeling a lump in her throat.

He runs a hand down the soft, smooth skin of her face and settles it on her cheek. She bites her bottom lip, searching for words as his eyes move to follow her mouth's motion. He leans his face down towards hers, his eyes staring intently at her lips.

She parts them in anticipation, her breath speeding up because his face is so close. She looks up at his eyes. His lashes flutter and his eyes close – _just like that day_ – and Caroline sighs in contentment when he brings his lips down to hers.

God, this feels so _good_ and so _right_.

He runs his tongue across the seam of her lips and she opens her mouth to deepen the kiss. His hand runs down to her thigh and he hitches her leg around his waist.

His kiss is soft but demanding as he tries to pour all his assurances into it. She grasps at the curls at the back of his head, trying to press herself as close to him as she can.

He breaks the kiss, nipping at her bottom lip, then moves his hand back to the side of her face.

"Don't ever think that you are not enough. You are more than enough."

He caresses her cheek then drops a kiss on her forehead before moving back down to the bed.

She pants, attempting to catch her breath and focus her mind, as her thoughts swim with his confession. She curls up against him once more, moving his hand to her stomach again as he settles back behind her.

They lie in silence.

"Why Stefan?" Klaus suddenly asks, his voice betraying the jealously he was trying to conceal.

She doesn't respond, the same vein of thought running through her mind. Why _did_ she go after Stefan? Was it just because he'd been there? Was it because she'd been able to tell him everything without fear of judgment?

Had he merely served as a distraction from the hybrid currently lying behind her? She hadn't ever allowed herself to ask that question, and for once she was at a loss for words.

"I don't – I don't know," she answers lamely.

His grip on her loosens and he falls onto his back as she continues.

"I guess I just thought about how people always say that best friends make the best boyfriends. I mean, it would be so easy if I were with him. I wouldn't ever have to wonder about where I stand. He'd just accept me like I am. And – I thought he liked me, so I just kind of ran with it."

"If I had a dollar for every time Rebekah's said something along those lines over the past 1,000 years – "Klaus scoffs.

Quickly she sits up and scowls down at him.

"Like _you_ know what love is. You've loved one person your _entire_ life: your new baby. Which, by the way, thanks for not telling me about," she huffs out.

The air around them becomes dangerously thin. He sits up abruptly, his eyes glittering with anger.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he growls, his hands gripping the bedspread tightly.

She lifts her chin defiantly, meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, because you never fucking told me!" she bursts out angrily. He blinks in surprise when the rarely used curse word spills from her mouth. "I had to hear from it from _Damon_ of all people! Do you know how that made me feel?"

"Damon's lucky he's dead considering what he did to you when he initially came to town," Klaus spits out.

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest.

"That's beside the point. The point is that you didn't tell me after _everything_ that happened between us. I actually trusted you," she points out, hurt.

His shoulders relax and he hesitantly reaches over to where her hands are folded on her lap.

She rips them away and lays back down on the bed, curling on her side.

He sits for a minute before laying back down on his back. He hesitates.

"I'm sorry."

"For not telling me, or for sleeping with me and then not telling me?" she sniffled.

"Both."

She can't help smirking. "You should be."

"But I don't regret that day in the woods. It was – "

"Yeah," She interrupts, feeling her cheek turn red. "Same for me too."

She's quiet for a moment before she speaks up hesitantly.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have attacked you like that."

He smirks. "Oh, love, feel free to attack me like you did in the woods any –"

"Not that," she cuts him off with a blush. "For attacking you about the whole love thing."

He becomes quiet, his gaze lifting to the ceiling.

His right hand reaches for hers and she finds herself gripping it tightly.

When he speaks, it's soft.

"_Two_."

"Two?" she asks confused.

"Two people," he finishes, his voice thick with emotion. "I have loved two people."

She pulls herself into his embrace, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Tatia?"

"What? No," he denies, startled. "She was merely an infatuation. The side effect of being near a Petrova doppelganger. Damon and Stefan can attest to that theory."

"Hayley?" she asks, hoping her tone conceals her jealousy.

It doesn't.

"Hardly," he barks out a laugh. "If she died tomorrow, the most emotion I could manage would be for my brother and his pesky infatuation with her."

"What about the blonde bartender Tyler told me about?" she continues guessing, her voice coming out small.

Tyler had delighted in telling her about a beautiful bartender that had caught Klaus' eye over the past 9 months he'd spent in New Orleans. Klaus is quiet in contemplation as he pieces together his answer.

"Camille? She's a friend. That's the most I can say. A very _compelling_ friend, if you know what I mean," he hints with a wry smile.

She rolls her eyes in disgust. "Glad to see nothing changed while you were gone. It's such a shame you and Damon never hung out more," she says venomously.

"Damon used women for blood and sex. I won't deny feeding off them, but sex isn't part of the equation. I prefer my lovers to be completely willing," he says seductively, trailing a hand down her back, massaging it.

She closes her eyes and swallows heavily as he runs a hand to her ass, gripping it slightly.

"Um, uh – so, if it wasn't them then who –?"

His eyes snap down to hers, the look in them making her chest feel uncomfortably tight.

His hands stop his ministrations and they look at each other in silence.

"Oh."

He doesn't say anything in response and takes a deep breath. She's stunned into silence, trying to comprehend what just conspired.

"Are you really that surprised?" he asks somewhat bitterly. "You've known for a long time, Caroline. I've never been shy in expressing my feelings for you."

"I – " she swallows thickly. "I knew, but I really didn't _know_. You said it yourself: 'Love is a vampire's greatest weakness.'"

"How did you – "

"Stefan has a big mouth," she cut in.

"Naturally," he spat.

They didn't say anything for a few minutes and Klaus' voice cut through the tension.

"Rebekah sent me a picture today."

If her heart still beat it would have come to a standstill now. The baby.

"Can I see?" she asks, afraid of his answer.

If he shows her, then it means she's real. That it isn't all some strange nightmare fantasy Caroline had concocted inside her own mind.

He pulls in a quiet breath before digging his phone out of his pocket.

"Sure."

He browses through some messages before double-tapping on the screen and passing the phone to her.

She takes it carefully, as if it might break easily, and looks.

A small brown-haired baby girl dressed in an "I love my auntie" onesie looks up at her. Her cheeks are rosy and the hair on the top of her head is dark like Hayley's. The baby's lips are fixed in a slight smirk, not completely unlike Klaus' signature look. Most of the baby's features remind her of Hayley, except for the eyes.

Caroline stares for a long while at the familiar blue orbs that remind her of the hybrid who slowly has managed to get under her skin. Eventually she tears her eyes away from the screen to look back at Klaus who is pretending not to be affected by her looking at his daughter.

"She looks like Hayley," she chuckles, trying to ease up the tension.

The corner of his mouth twitches upward as he reaches for the phone from her.

"Poor girl," he says quietly, looking at the screen again before switching it off.

Caroline scoffs and hits his arm lightly.

"That's so mean!" she reprimands.

His smirk blooms into a smile as he pulls her back into his arms.

"Only kidding, love," he laughs.

She rolls her eyes but smiles in spite of herself.

"You know, there's a little bit of truth in every 'just kidding'," she states matter-of-factly.

Now he rolls his eyes before leaning down to kiss her lightly. She smiles in response and lays her head on his chest, blushing at the unfamiliar affection.

"You never told me how _you_ were," she says, looking up at him. "With New Orleans, with Marcel, and with H-Hope."

His body stiffens and the hand that had been stroking her hair comes to an abrupt halt. She mentally kicks herself for ruining a good moment. Sometimes she really really hated her blabbermouth and all the good stuff it ruined.

"I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about it," she hastens to add."I know that it's a super sore subject, I just figured that if you can get over me talking about Stefan, then maybe Marcel wouldn't be so bad. Like – "

"My father is back," he cuts in, his voice cool and steel-like.

"Wait, what?" she asks, shaking her head in disbelief. "How the hell is that possible?"

"And so is my mother," he continues, dropping his hands from her body and sitting up.

His face had formed into a cool blank mask as he sits against her headboard. She sits up next to him, utterly confused.

"I don't get it," she shakes her head. "Mikael died and so did Esther. How is any of this possible?"

"I detest witches," is his only answer.

She looks at him, observing how his eyes are burning a hole into her comforter. She hesitates before reaching over and laying a light hand on his thigh. His eyes snap to it and then back to the comforter.

"Well, get rid of them again."

"Excuse me?"

His eyes find hers, his steel demeanor faltering slightly.

"Get rid of them." Caroline repeats with a shrug. "Kill them before they kill you."

"I'm not a hero, Caroline. It's more difficult than it seems. They are two powerful beings hell-bent on destroying me and everything I touch. It isn't that simple," he spits out.

"Yeah you can," she snaps back. His head swivels to look at her. "You're Klaus fucking Mikaelson. You _aren't _a hero. You are the Original Hybrid; the most powerful creature on the planet. You are an asshole 99% of the time, most of which I am pissed off by. You killed Elena's aunt and Tyler's mom without blinking. You killed 12 hybrids in a night. You're cold, calculating, a pain in the ass – "

"Get to the point sweetheart, I'm beginning to lose sight of how this is meant to be motivational."

She smiles. "What I'm trying to say is, the Klaus Mikaelson I know would have killed Mikael and Esther the minute he found out about them. _That_ Klaus gets shit done. Sure, they're powerful, but you're the most powerful person there is, Klaus. You made _me_ care for you. Something I swore would never ever happen. Mikael and Ester and Marcel and Hope – these aren't life-threatening issues. Those are an inconvenient bump in the road for the Klaus I know," she finishes, breathing heavily.

Klaus' eyes are wide as saucers as he looks at her. She glares defiantly back at him.

"You really care for me?" he asks.

She scoffs. "Seriously?! I give you that humongous speech and all you heard was that I like you?!" she shouts incredulously. "I just gave you a freaking movie-worthy motivational speech and you ignore the best parts! You – "

He swoops in and crashes his lips to hers.

His kiss is hard and demanding as he plunges his tongue into her mouth, not bothering to ask for entrance. She moans quietly into his mouth as he leans her back against the pillows, inching his hand up her shirt.

She tightens her grip on the back of his neck as he breaks the kiss and trails his lips down her neck, paying special attention to the spot under her jaw. Her fingernails dig into the material of his shirt and she's contemplating ripping it from his body when he moves his lips back to hers.

He places one last kiss on her lips and sits back up.

"Seriously?" she protests, trying to pull his head back down to her.

He chuckles and kisses the inside of her palm.

"Oh don't you worry love, we'll have plenty of time for that in a bit," he smirks seductively, trailing his right hand to her breast and massaging it briefly.

She moans quietly, her hand persistently trying to pull his head down.

"I'm just enjoying the moment," he informs her lightly and her eyes narrow in response. "What? Can I not cuddle you?"

"I thought you didn't cuddle," she remarks, lying back down on her side.

"Well, I didn't until I realized just how arousing it is," he whispers hotly in her ear, lying back down too.

She shivers in response.

They lay there, Klaus stroking her stomach again; Caroline lost in her own thoughts.

"You know you can't stay here," she whispers.

His hands stop their ministrations for the briefest of seconds before continuing.

"I know."

"I need to be human now. I need to be a college student; single, with no hang-ups, nothing," she continues. "I'm going to get a job, kiss a couple more guys – maybe a girl – fall in love and live a human life. Maybe I'll do it a couple of times. I need to do it, though."

"I understand," he says, with somewhat of a sigh. Then:"If you do kiss that girl, do send pictures," he jokes.

She rolls her eyes and smacks his arm.

They laugh together for a minute before she brings herself back to her train of thought.

"And in a few years – maybe two or four or twenty-five or even one hundred – from now, I'm going to go see the world," she continues on. "I'm going to see Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and maybe even Zimbabwe or Turkey."

"Sounds wonderful, love," he acknowledged.

"And I'm going to need a tour guide," she adds carefully. She feels him smile into her hair as he pulls her more snugly into his chest. "Someone who's been to those places before; who can show me all that the world has to offer."

"I can think of someone."

"Can you?" she asks with a smile.

"Yeah, " he states. "You were speaking of Rebekah, correct?"

"Seriously?!" she groans.

He lets out a rare laugh and pulls her up until she's lying completely on top of him, her legs straddling his body.

"One day, sweetheart," he promises, pushing a curl behind her ear.

"One day," she agrees.

She smiles innocently at him before grinding her hips down onto his. His eyes darken immediately and he growls low into his throat.

"You're playing with fire there, love," he says lowly, reaching to pull her lips to his.

She giggles and evades his hands, going to lay back next to him.

"I don't know. I think I'm kind of tired, actually."

She fakes a yawn and turns her back to him, closing her eyes with a sneaky smile on her face.

In a flash, he's on top of her shirtless and his lips are working expertly on that sensitive spot in her neck. She hums delightedly, raking her nails down the firm muscles of his back.

"Just for tonight," he murmurs, his hand flitting down to the edge of her tank top. She gasps at the feel of his blunt human teeth nibbling on the underside of her jaw.

"Just tonight," she agrees, her breaths starting to come out in pants. "You need to go back before breakfast."

His response was rip her flimsy camisole off her body and crash his lips back down to hers. She moaned into his mouth as his dancing hand massaged her breast briefly. She nips his bottom lip and reaches down to grip his length through his jeans and delights in the groan he lets out.

"Okay, maybe you should stay for breakfast," she pants hotly into his ear.

"My thoughts exactly, love."

Her last thought, right before she begins to get completely lost in him, is how glad she is he found a loophole.

**Well, what did you think? Klaus was probably a little OOC and ditto with CareBear, but I kept picturing these scenes in my head for months!**

**Please review! Reviews keep me functioning!**

**Hopefully I'll see you guys again in another fic!**

**Kaitlyn :)**


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